Entering The Peripheral

It’s been interesting to delve into another William Gibson novel after having been exposed to his previous work, Neuromancer . Neuromancer was a somewhat difficult but fascinating read in that it was a sci-fi novel written in the past predicting a technological future, which while often predicative of actual technological advancements, occasionally greatly diverged from present technology and conventional sci-fi. I initially anticipated that The Peripheral may be an easier read as it’s a more recent novel that can be grounded in the realities of current technologies while again predicting the future. But this was not the case. Gibson predicts so far into the future that the technology involves ideas and concepts I had never considered. This makes his plots a bit difficult to grasp because you are essentially dumped into a new world with no context. But after wading through the initial chapters, struggling to pick up and recognize the strands of plot, everything began to come together around chapter 20. This has greatly increased my motivation to read the book, as I’m now invested in the characters and I understand what’s going on, and it has some incredible plot twists. The idea that you could play a “game” that is actually the future, witness a real murder, and now be in danger is such a cool idea. I’m looking forward to continuing Gibson’s novel, and further exploring his vision of the future now that I have a better idea of what’s happening.